


Killing Cain

by PleaseDontHoldBack



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-03-24 11:51:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13810617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PleaseDontHoldBack/pseuds/PleaseDontHoldBack
Summary: This whole “killing Cain plan” was really starting to give people the wrong idea.





	1. Chloe Knows

**Author's Note:**

> Set after s03e14. Spoilers for previous episodes.

“You can’t just _lick_ it, Lucifer! It doesn’t work like that!” Pierce snapped.

“I wasn’t just going to _lick_ it! Don’t be absurd,” Lucifer replied. “I was going to rub it, too!”

“That won’t work either! It’s going to take a lot more than just rubbing and licking! Why do you always insist on half assing everything!”

“I will have you know that I am putting my full ass into this! It’s not my fault you just can’t be pleased!”

“I’m not _pleased_ because you aren’t _trying_! I thought you were going to take this seriously!”

“Just because I haven’t figured this out yet doesn’t mean I’m not trying! Stop taking out all your anger on me! I will get it. Have some faith, man.”

“That’s rich coming from you,” Pierce grunted.

“What? Because of my father? It’s not like he invented the word ‘faith’; he just loves using it as a crutch.”

“Let’s not talk about him while we’re in the middle of this. I don’t even know why I brought him up.”

“Couldn’t possibly be because you enjoy pushing my buttons?”

“No, Lucifer. The button pushing is your thing.”

“So it is. And being completely and woefully unenthusiastic is yours. How could I have forgotten?”

“You’ve done _nothing_ to be enthusiastic _about_!”

“Oh, no? Perhaps if I used more tongue …”

Chloe immediately stepped away from the Lieutenant's office, wondering why she had been listening in for as long as she had. Frozen from shock maybe. Or disbelief. She had seen them undercover, of course. And, yeah, maybe she had wondered why Lucifer had gotten so upset at Pierce through the whole thing. And the kiss had really thrown her for a loop. But she hadn’t really thought that it meant something until now. Just exactly what it meant, she couldn’t be sure.

Were they seeing each other? Lucifer didn’t seem the type. But then he had gotten married not too long ago, and Chloe would have never believed that had she not seen it with her own eyes. And, really, she knew her partner. If he sounded emotionally invested in something then he was. There was no lying or exaggerating coming from him. (Not that he didn’t exaggerate, of course, it was just that he believed a hundred percent in whatever it was he was blowing out of proportion.)

What about Pierce though? He seemed distant and agitated. Did this mean as much to him as it did to Lucifer? It hadn’t exactly sounded like it. And Chloe was more than familiar with how Lucifer handled emotional trauma; by burying it as deep as it would go and blatantly taking out his hurt on criminals. Is that what was going to happen here? Was Lucifer setting himself up for failure with Pierce?

* * *

“Would you let go of my arm?” Pierce finally snapped, ripping his arm away from where Lucifer had been trying to clean his mark off with a saliva-wet thumb.

“Do you have any real plans, or can I go home?”

“You could stand to be a bit more optimistic, you know.”

“Optimistic about _what_? All you’ve had so far are asinine, half-witted ideas that have no basis in anything! I’ve already tried all this, Lucifer! You aren’t helping anything and you aren’t providing anything new to the table! You promised you would help, but you aren’t taking this seriously at all!”

“I am taking this perfectly serious!” Lucifer snapped. “Just because I’m not brooding over it doesn’t mean I’m not trying. If you would just lighten up a bit perhaps you’d find this more enjoyable.”

“Nothing about this is enjoyable, Lucifer! What about that aren’t you getting? I should have known you wouldn’t be any help,” Pierce replied, heading out the door. “Call me when you actually have an idea that has some credibility.”

“I _have_ an idea, but you won’t open up to me so I can put it into effect!” Lucifer shouted after him, reminding him once more that finding his vulnerability was what was going to finally put him in the ground.

Lucifer sighed as Pierce stomped off, leaving him alone in the Lieutenant's office. This whole “Killing Cain” plan would go a lot more smoothly if Pierce would just cooperate. Sure, Lucifer might not know exactly what he was doing, but neither did Pierce. And Pierce had already admitted to using up all of his best ideas centuries ago, so it’s not like he was doing any better.

* * *

Lucifer sat in Lux the next day pondering over the problem. It would have been a lot more enjoyable to be pondering over the problem with Pierce, but the Lieutenant wasn’t picking up his phone. It was his signature move after throwing a fit and walking out. Lucifer was more than aware of that fact by now, so he wasn’t concerned. Pierce would be back tomorrow (two days tops) demanding answers and ideas out of Lucifer.

What Lucifer was more worried about was that he didn’t exactly have any ideas. Blades forged in hell wouldn’t work, a beheading just ended with Peirce’s severed head glaring at him, shots to the heart only put him down for thirty seconds at best, and direct shots to the head only put him down for sixty seconds.

Maybe something that would put him in a constant state of death? Like putting him in cement shoes and dropping him in the ocean. Or dumping him in a cement vat. Lucifer frowned, remembering that Pierce had told him he already tried the cement idea, and all that it resulted in was a few centuries of lost time. So that wouldn’t work. He was still no closer to knowing what the mark meant or knowing what made Pierce vulnerable.

He wished Pierce would be more forthcoming with his life. It wouldn’t kill him to put a little bit more trust in Lucifer. The devil frowned. Perhaps that wasn’t the best phrasing for it, since the entire point of this whole thing was to kill him.

Best to try to avoid that phrasing in front of Pierce then.

He was distracted from his thoughts when we heard footsteps coming down his otherwise empty club. He smiled when he saw who it was. “Detective! To what do I owe the pleasure? Another case perhaps?” he asked, his excitement increasing after every question. “A diamond heist? Grand theft auto? Do we have another murderer on our hands?”

Chloe shook her head. “No, nothing like that.” She pursed her lips together in thought. “I came over because I was concerned,” she forced herself to explain.

Lucifer cocked his head to the side. “Concerned, were you? Concerned about what?”

“Well, Lucifer, I was concerned about you. You and Pierce, actually,” Chloe explained. “I heard you both. Yesterday, at the precinct.”

“Heard us? Heard us saying what?” Lucifer asked with a frown as he replayed the conversation he had with Pierce the day before. He couldn’t remember anything being said that would have been a cause for concern. Unless … had Chloe put the pieces together as to who Pierce really was? Probably not, since she couldn’t even piece together that he was the devil, no matter how many times he had flat out told her.

“It doesn’t matter what I heard,” Chloe said, breaking through Lucifer’s thoughts and looking uncomfortable. “What matters is that what I heard made it sound like you and the Lieutenant were - _are_ \- getting close.”

“Well, yes,” Lucifer agreed. “I told you that before. Turns out he and I have more in common than I’d previously thought.”

“Right, I just,” Chloe started, pressing her lips together before she forced the rest out. “It seems to me that you’ve been getting really close, and … and I just don’t want to see you getting hurt, that’s all.”

Lucifer cocked his head to the side, his smile growing. “Get hurt, detective? Pierce can’t hurt me; I’m the devil.”

Chloe nodded as if she had been expecting that response. “I know you think you’re invincible, Lucifer, but you aren’t. And, I know, even though you’d never admit it, that you kind of … allow yourself to get swept up in things. And Pierce … well, he’s just not that type of guy. And I don’t want you to devote yourself to this thing between the two of you if he’s not going to put in the effort.”

“Oh? You don’t think he’s putting in effort, do you?” Lucifer asked. “Well, I suppose he’s not. I’ve been telling him that myself, actually, but that doesn’t seem to help. Do you have any ideas, then?” he asked, turning Chloe and looking too excited. “Some way to force him into doing what I want?”

“It’s not about forcing him into doing what you want, Lucifer,” Chloe tried to lecture. “It’s about both of you being open and honest about what you want, and then getting both of you to a point where you’re both comfortable.”

“So I have to wait until he’s comfortable?” Lucifer asked, looking appalled. “I don’t have that kind of time!” Lucifer frowned, remembering that Pierce’s immortality problem meant that actually did have that kind of time, not that it made him retract his statement.

“I know it’s hard, but if you really care about the lieutenant, then you have to be patient with him. If you rush in like you always insist on doing you’re going to end up pushing him away,” Chloe advised.

Lucifer scoffed. “I’m not going to scare him away, detective. He’s-”

Chloe put her hands up to stop him. “Look, whatever it is you two are, and whatever it is you two are going towards: I’m happy for you. It’s nice to see you taking something seriously for once. I just don’t want to see you get hurt, is all, so if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here for you.”

Lucifer blinked at her. “Detective, I don’t think I’m-”

“You don’t have to argue or explain yourself or anything like that, Lucifer. I came to say what I said, so I’m let’s just leave it at that, okay?” Chloe asked before heading back towards the stairs. “I have to go pick Trixie up from school,” she explained before darting back and giving Lucifer a quick hug. “I _am_ happy for you, for what it’s worth,” she explained before quickly taking the stairs.

Lucifer blinked, looking at her retreating back until it disappeared. He really hadn’t the slightest idea what that had been about, but he was willing to bank on the fact that it didn’t have anything to do with him trying to kill Cain.


	2. Ella Knows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and comments! You guys are awesome! The outline for this story is already written, so while updates should be fast, this one was super, duper incredibly fast and should be thought of as an outlier instead of the rule.

“You have no idea what you’re doing,” Pierce accused, “I don’t know why I even agreed to this.”

“Would you just sit still and take it?  You’re so frustrating!” Lucifer snapped back.  “And not at all flexible, might I add.”

“Why do you even need me in this position to begin with?  I’m not going to keep going along with your plans until you tell me what it is we’re doing! So, what is it?  What’s the plan here?  If your plan’s to rip me in half-”

“Don’t be vulgar,” Lucifer chided.  “I would never.  Everything about this will be gentle.  The position is all about easy access.”

“Easy access to  _ what _ ?”

“Would you just  _ trust  _ me for once?” Lucifer snapped.

“Guys,” Ella burst in, tired of listening in by the door.  “I don’t know what you’re doing in here, but-” Her eyes widened as she took in the scene in front of her: Pierce lying on his desk with Lucifer between his legs.  “Well, it sounds like you’re doing exactly what you’re doing,” she finished before shielding her eyes, spinning around, and leaving the room.  “I’ll just leave you to it, k?  Bye!”

Pierce glared at Lucifer before kicking him back and rolling off the desk to go after Ella.  “Lopez!” he shouted.  “Lopez!  It’s not what it looks like,” he said, grabbing ahold of her shoulder and spinning her around to face him.  

“It looks like Lucifer was between your legs … stretching out your back?” Ella replied, her eyes still ride as Lucifer came up from behind Pierce.  

“Looking for easy access to main veins, actually,” Lucifer corrected helpfully, putting his hand on Pierce’s shoulder.  

Pierce turned his head to glare at him.  “ _ That’s _ what you were doing?  What the  _ hell  _ were you doing that for?”  

“I was thinking that the curse is actually in your blood, and bleeding you dry would eliminate the curse,” Lucifer explained.  

Pierce lifted his hand from Ella’s arm as he turned to look at Lucifer fully.  “Can’t say I’ve ever done that one,” he replied, looking mystified that Lucifer had actually come up with a plan he hadn’t thought of.  “Maybe that would actually work.”

Ella frowned as she looked between the two.  “Weird foreplay aside, cutting a vein isn’t going to bleed anyone out,” she explained.  “What you want to be going for is the arteries.  Really, one deep cut across one artery would be enough to do someone in, but if you wanted to actually bleed someone completely out and suck them vampire dry it wouldn’t hurt to cut  _ all  _ the main arteries.  You could even hang him upside down to stop the blood from flowing back to the heart,” she suggested.  

Lucifer smiled slowly.  “Ella, you are simply wonderful, you know that?  Now, tell me, where are all these main arteries?”

“Well, there’s one right here, in the neck,” Ella explained, tracing down Pierce’s neck.  “That’s the common carotid, and also the gusher.  You’re talking massive splash damage,” she said, getting more and more excited as she went on.  

Pierce listened to her continue on, watching both her and Lucifer’s growing excitement.  He’d allow the idea, since he was desperate enough to try everything at least once, but that didn’t mean he had any hope for it.

* * *

 

Pierce gasped as he came back to himself, hanging upside down from a chandelier at Lux and dripping blood all over himself.  Lucifer stood beside him, glaring furiously.  

“This … this isn’t going to work, Lucifer,” Pierce said, exhausted, drained, and dizzy.  He had been fading in and out since dusk, waking up just enough to feel Lucifer cutting him back open with a knife, but too weak to do anything about it.  “Cut me down.  They’ll be expecting me at work soon.”  Not that he’d be showing up on time.  He was sure he’d need time to recover, not to mention time to wash off all the blood.  

“No matter what I do it just keeps  _ coming _ ,” Lucifer explained, looking furious beyond measure.  “It just won’t  _ stop _ .” 

Pierce glanced over to Lucifer, completely drenched in blood, then glanced to the floor below him, which was practically flooding.  It was evident that he’d been gushing blood all night; Lux looked like it had undergone a massacre.  

“Cut me down, Lucifer,” Pierce said again, his voice devoid of emotion.  He didn’t have the energy to be pissed or upset.  He didn’t have the energy to be anything.  He was so  _ tired _ .  “I have to get to work.  And I have to wash this blood off.”

Lucifer glared at him before sighing.  “Right, yes, of course you do,” he said, frowning at his floor.  “And I suppose it’d be in my best interest to start draining all this blood.”  He cut the rope binding Pierce’s feet to the chandelier, doing nothing to stop Pierce from landing in a heap on the floor.  “You might as well use my shower,” he sighed, climbing down from the ladder he had been on all night, working diligently to ensure that all of Pierce’s cuts stayed open.  Not that it had done much good.  

Pierce forced himself to stand, despite how much his legs shook.  He nodded his head as he took off towards the bathroom, not having the energy to argue and hoping that Lucifer would have the foresight to find him decent clothes to wear.

* * *

 

Pierce stepped off the elevator in a well-fitted, three-piece suit.  He didn’t want to wonder why, exactly, it was that Lucifer had one in his exact size.  He just hopped no one would comment on it.  He also hoped that no one would comment on the fact that his legs were still shaking.  

He had stopped at the drugstore for some multivitamins and a Gatorade, but his strength was slow to return.  Usually he didn’t feel the effects of his death this long.  He couldn’t help but wonder if it was because his body was exhausted after producing what appeared to be gallons of blood throughout the night.  If he had kept bleeding out for days or weeks or months would his body eventually give out? 

Pierce grunted as he slowly reached his office.  He had no doubt that train of thought was simply wishful thinking.  Maybe  _ maybe  _ bleeding out for a long enough period of time would let him be dead for a few hours at most, and that was only if Lucifer had enough patience to stand by him the whole time continuously cutting him open.  

He could tell by the lack of smart remarks Lucifer had thrown his way that the devil was exhausted by the night’s events as well.  Clearly continuously draining blood was not a stable course of action.  

“Lieutenant Pierce!” Ella greeted, a giant smile on her face as she jogged to greet him.  “Nice suit!  Looking snazzy!”

Pierce clenched his teeth, not at all in the mood for Ella’s too-upbeat attitude.  “Lopez,” he greeted back, moving past her to get to his office.  

For being as perceptive at crime scenes as Ella was, she was surprisingly bad at taking social cues.  “Three-piece suit, bags under your eyes, a telltale stiff walk to your gait,” she rattled off with a smile on her face, following Pierce into his office.  Her smile widened.  “Somebody didn’t go home last night.”

Pierce had enough patience not to growl at the insinuation.  “Lopez,” he snapped, getting interrupted before he had a chance to expand on the thought.

“Hey, hey, hey!  Not to worry, there, sir; you’re secret’s safe with me,” Ella assured him, holding her hands up in front of her.  “What you and Lucifer do behind closed doors is your own business, and I’m not about to be Judgey McJugderson.  In fact, I’m really proud of you.  It’s about time you opened up and let someone in.”

“Lopez,” Pierce replied with a growl.  “Don’t you have work you should be doing?”

Ella beamed at him.  “Sir, yes, sir,” she replied, giving a loose salute and darting out of his office.  

“And shut the door!” Pierce called, too late as Ella was already halfway down the hall.  Pierce sighed as he rubbed his head, too tired to get up from his chair and close the door himself, and  _ much  _ too tired to contemplate the meaning behind Ella’s words.  


	3. Dan Knows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've got a bit of canon-divergence going on now, in that everyone is ignoring episode 16. I'm calling it 'artistic license'. Please deal with it. :P
> 
> Also, sorry I made you wait so long. I had absolutely no idea it'd been almost a month since my last post. Time really flies and all that.

“This is hopeless,” Pierce said, rubbing his forehead.  

“It’s not hopeless,” Lucifer snapped, glaring at Pierce while he paced the room.  “We just haven’t thought of the right solution yet, is all. There _is_ a way to do this.  There _has_ to be.”

“Lucifer,” Pierce said with a sigh, “I’ve been thinking, and I’ve been trying, and now I’m just _tired_.”

“Yes, well, _I’m_ not tired,” Lucifer pointed out.  “And I _will_ find a solution.  We just need some proper inspiration is all.”

“Oh, yeah?  Like watching another useless movie and calling it research?  Because that’s been real useful so far.”

“Well, let’s hear your bright idea then, hm?  At least I’m _trying_ ,” Lucifer snapped.  

“I don’t want to try anymore!” Pierce pointed out.  “I want to be done trying! I want to be done with all of this!  I just want to die. It shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Yes, yes, I know all about your desire,” Lucifer replied.  “I’ll get it figured out. I just need some time. And _you_ need to relax.  We’re not going to get anything accomplished with that pessimistic attitude of yours.”

“You’d be pessimistic too if you’d dealt with this for as long as I have,” Pierce grumbled.  “Never knowing when or if it’ll ever stop. If I’ll ever be able to stop feeling like this.”

“Now, now, that’s certainly not the attitude needed in this type of situation,” Lucifer said.  “I’m here now, after all, and I’ve already told you that we’d get this figured out. I’ll stop at nothing to make sure your desires come true.  You have nothing to be concerned with.”

Dan stepped back from Pierce’s office, guilty that he had remained listening at the door for as long as he had.  He just couldn’t believe what he had heard. Pierce wanting to die? It seemed so bizarre. Pierce didn’t seem like the type of guy to let himself fall into major depression.  But, if Dan knew anything it was that depression was hardly seen and forever felt. And it was often the ones that hid it the best that suffered the most.

The fact that it was Lucifer of all people helping him threw Dan for another loop.  He wasn’t sure if he could trust it. Lucifer wasn’t really the helpful type, after all, even when he tried to be.  And he wasn’t exactly sensitive to other people’s feelings. Could he be trusted to take care of someone during their depressive episode?  Especially someone like Pierce who wasn’t exactly forthcoming with emotions as it was.

Dan just didn’t know.  But he had a good feeling Chloe would.

* * *

 

“Pierce is he … opening up, do you think?” was the first question Chloe asked as soon as Dan was done voicing his concerns.  

“He’s talking pretty openly about his depression,” Dan replied, “I’d say that falls under the category of ‘opening up’.  What makes you ask? What are you thinking?”

“Well, I was thinking that Lucifer was the only one motivated in their relationship, but if Pierce is opening up maybe that’s not the case.  And if he’s suffering from depression that would definitely explain why he’s been acting so aloof towards Lucifer.”

“Wait, what are you saying?  Relationship?” Dan asked, mystified.  “Lucifier doesn’t-”

“He does,” Chloe replied with a head nod.  “Or, at least in this case he is.” She looked around the open precinct before nodding her head towards an open and empty room.

Dan nodded back before following her in.  “You think Lucifer’s serious about this?” he asked as soon as he closed the door behind them.

“I think Lucifer is as serious as he can be about something.  It was Pierce I was worried about. He seemed pretty aloof.”

“He _seems_ pretty depressed,” Dan corrected.

Chloe rolled her eyes.  “I know that _now_ , Dan.  You can’t expect me to have known that yesterday.  Like I said, the depressive episode does explain why Pierce doesn’t seem to be emotionally available.”

“I’d say it’s more than an episode, Chloe,” Dan corrected.  “He was talking about it as if it’s been a problem for him for awhile.  He was talking about _suicide_ , Chloe.”

The detective’s eyes widened.  “Suicide? Pierce? No way. He’s not the type to-”

“You never know who’s the type and who isn’t,” Dan replied.  “I had my own struggles with depression, if you’ll remember. And no one at the precinct besides you had any idea.  It’s not something people typically broadcast.”

Chloe nodded again.  “Maybe you could talk to him,” she suggested.

Dan’s eyes widened.  “Talk to him? Me?”

“Yes, Dan!  It’d be perfect!”  Chloe insisted, getting more excited through every word.  “I’m sure he would appreciate hearing from someone who’d been through a similar experience.  Wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t know, Chloe,” Dan answered with hesitation.  “I mean, I would have, yeah. But just because I would have appreciated it doesn’t mean Pierce will.  Not to mention I’m not exactly Pierce’s go-to guy here.”

“Isn’t it better to try and fail then to never try?  You’re talking about _suicide_ here, Dan.  This is serious!” Chloe snapped, glaring at her ex-husband.  “If you won’t talk to the lieutenant at least talk to Lucifer!”

“I know it’s serious!” Dan snapped right back.  “I’m not arguing that this isn’t serious. I’m trying to decipher what the best course of action is in this scenario!  Some people don’t like having all their emotional shit out there, Chloe!”

“Better to have their personal stuff out there than offing themselves because they’re too closed up!”

“Different people have different ways of dealing with things, Chloe,” Dan reminded her.  “You have to respect that.”

Chloe sighed.  “I’m just worried, Dan.  I can’t think that Lucifer or Pierce are going to deal with this in a healthy way.  Can you please just check up on them?”

Dan sighed before nodding his head.  He didn’t know what it was about his ex-wife, but she was almost completely impossible to say ‘no’ to.

* * *

 

“Detective Douche,” Lucifer greeted with a smile as soon as Dan had stepped into Lux.  “To what do I owe this-” He frowned. “Well, I wouldn’t call it a ‘pleasure’, really.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll make it quick,” Dan mumbled before taking a spot at the bar next to Lucifer.  “Believe me, I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me to be.”

“Well, if I don’t want you here, and you don’t want you here, then you being here is a bit of a conundrum, isn’t it?” Lucifer asked before taking a sip of the scotch in front of him. 

“Chloe asked me to come,” Dan replied as if that was enough of an answer.  

Lucifer simply raised an eyebrow.

“She’s concerned,” Dan forced out.  He reached for the scotch Lucifer had been drinking out of and took the liberty of drinking the rest.  “About you and Lieutenant Pierce.”

Lucifer frowned at his now-empty glass before getting up and walking around the bar to grab the bottle and a spare glass.  “If you wanted some all you had to do was ask,” Lucifer advised as he poured the drink into both glasses and put the new one down beside Dan.  “As for Lieutenant Pierce, I already spoke to her about her concern over me. As I’ve already told her: she has nothing to worry about.”

“Well, this time she’s not concerned over you; she’s concerned over Pierce,” Dan snapped before taking a sip of his drink.  

Lucifer rose an eyebrow.  “Well, she certainly hops the fence fast, doesn’t she?” he asked.  He grabbed his drink from beside Dan and took his own sip. “Afraid I’m going to hurt the lieutenant now, is she?”

“More like afraid the lieutenant is going to hurt himself,” Dan muttered, staring at the bartop.  He sighed when he looked up to meet Lucifer’s frown. “I heard you two talking,” he admitted before taking a large swig of his scotch.  “About how Pierce was feeling depressed and hopeless.”

“ _You_ heard us talking,” Lucifer repeated, his frown intensifying.  “If _you_ heard us talking then why is it _Chloe_ that’s concerned about us?”

“Because I told her,” Dan admitted before finishing off his glass.  “And she insisted I come and talk to you because I’ve had my own experiences with depression, and she thought I might be helpful in helping you help Pierce.”

Lucifer couldn’t do anything but laugh.  “Oh, oh, detective,” he forced out between laughs, “while I have no doubt that you’ve been depressed (who wouldn’t be in your shoes?), I fail to see where you would ever help me.”

Dan glared.  “Excuse me for thinking that having someone in your circle that’s gone through the same thing would be helpful,” he snapped.  

“Oh, believe me, detective,” Lucifer replied, smile still on his face as he tried his best to hold back his laughter, “you have never gone through what Pierce is going through.  You wouldn’t know the first thing about it.”

“Fine,” Dan replied, grabbing the jacket he had slung on the stool next to him, “Well, I certainly hope for Pierce’s sake that you know what you’re doing, Lucifer, because a man depressed enough to be having these thoughts isn’t something to joke about.”  He took off for the stairs. “Let me know if you feel like growing up enough to ask for help,” he said before disappearing. He should have known Lucifer would be difficult about this. He only hoped that he’d have more luck with getting through to Pierce.  

* * *

 

“Detective,” Pierce greeted as soon as the detective let himself into his office.  His head was looking through the paperwork at his desk, and he didn’t bother to look up.  “To what do I owe this …” Pierce frowned, he couldn’t very well call this meeting pleasurable.  “What can I do for you?” he revised, finally looking up at Dan.

Dan cleared his throat.  “I was wondering if you had a minute to talk,” he replied, shutting the door and sitting down at the chair in front of Pierce’s desk.

“Isn’t that what we’re doing right now,” Pierce asked, fighting off a sigh.  “What’s on your mind, Detective Espinoza?”

“I’m-” Dan started, only to interrupt himself.  “Chloe and I,” he corrected before pausing again.  

“Sometime today would be nice, Espinoza,” Pierce replied.  “Some of us still have work to do,” he said, glancing down purposely at the papers scattered across his desk.  

“We’re concerned about you,” Dan forced out.  “I heard you talking to Lucifer about being depressed and … and all that,” he stumbled.  “I just want you to know that Chloe and I … we’re both here for you. … If you ever need us for … moral support … or anything.”

Pierce raised an eyebrow.  “Moral support?”

Dan shrugged.  “Yeah. Moral support.  You know, if you ever need someone to talk to about what’s going on or what you’re going through.  I’ve been through some depressive episodes myself. Sometimes it helps to talk about what you’re going through.”

“You want me to talk to you?”

Dan shrugged again.  “If you think it would help.”

“About how my depression makes me feel?”

“Yeah, that’s the jist of it,” Dan replied, shrugging for a third time.

“And you think this will help?”

Dan shrugged yet again.  “It helped me.”

“I can try,” Pierce allowed, letting go of a sigh as he finally gave Dan his full attention.

Dan nodded encouragingly.  “Let’s hear it.”

“It’s just … life,” Pierce tried to explain, sighing again.  “It’s just like this _endless_ , _meaningless_ void.  It’s like I’m a beaten dog … scrounging on the side of the road.  Just waiting to get mowed down by the next tsunami of crap.”

Dan blinked.  “Wow.”

“And I used to think that _-eventually-_ given the right amount of time, or the right information, or even just a little bit of damn luck, I could avoid it, or dodge it, or _move_ it,” Pierce continued.  “Except the more I try to change it, the more things stay the same.”

“Wow,” Dan repeated.  “And Lucifer … Lucifer is helping?”

Pierce rubbed his forehead.  “I realize it sounds absurd,” he replied.  “And I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea myself, but Lucifer ... “  He took a breath, “He’s the only one that even remotely understands,” he forced himself to admit.  “Even if he doesn’t understand very _well_ ,” he added under his breath.

Dan blinked again.  “Well, I’m not going to pretend to understand it, but I’m not going to fight you on it either.  You can’t help who you love, after all.” He darted a look to the door.

“Love?” Pierce asked, his eyes widening a fraction.  “Espinoza, I think you have the wrong-”

Dan was content to ignore him.  “Looks like you’ve got a lot of paperwork to finish up on, so I’ll just let you finish,” he said before quickly dashing out of the office.

Pierce rubbed his forehead once again.  “Well, that’s not good,” he told his newly-closed door.

 


	4. Amenadiel Knows

“I don’t understand why you’re so depressed in the first place,” Lucifer complained, pacing around Lux while Pierce sat to the side on a bar stool.  “You have no faith, sir. No faith at all.”

Pierce rolled his eyes.  “Why _wouldn’t_ I be depressed?  I’m stuck on this Earth until the end of days (whenever _that_ is), and maybe even after if your father deems it so.  My only hope is _you_ ,” he flung his arm towards Lucifer, glaring, “who seems to be taking this whole thing as one big joke, _and_ the entire precinct thinks we’re boning.”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call that last bit true,” Lucifer replied.

Pierce rose his eyebrows.  “You think it’s just Dan and Chloe that think that?”

“Oh, no, of course not, it’s the whole precinct,” Lucifer replied, smashing Pierce’s hopeful expression with a smile, “but they all think we’re in love, which is quite a bit different than just boning, isn’t it?  Not that I wouldn’t mind. The boning, bit that is. You aren’t horrid to look at, and it would make my father just _furious_.”

“I’m not interested in _sex_ , Lucifer,” Pierce hissed.

“I know, I know,” Lucifer replied immediately.  “Believe me, you’ve made that bit, perfectly clear, that you very much.  Don’t understand why you’re so against a good time,” he grumbled. “To hear you talk you’d think I had the clap.”

“With how much you get around you probably do,” Pierce muttered back.  

Lucifer’s eyebrows shot up.  “I’ll have you know I practice very safe sex!” he declared loudly.  “Can’t have all the sexy ladies of the world carrying around a little devil spawn in their bellies, now can I?”

“You’re disgusting,” Pierce replied.

“Not that that’s a problem with the sexy men of the world, of course.  Quite the pro, if you ask me,” Lucifer said, leaning in closer to Pierce with a smirk on his face.  He drew back a second later and put his finger to his chin in thought. “Although they do require a lot more prep work.  Not much of a fan of that part. Requires a lot of patience.”

“I was alive during the Roman Empire, Lucifer,” Pierce snapped, his eyes narrowed, “I know how homosexual sex works.  Can we stay on track, please?”

“There you go again.  All work and no play,” Lucifer complained.  “It’s a wonder you don’t die from high blood pressure, with the way you act all the time.”

“I probably _would_ if I was actually _allowed_ to die,” Pierce hissed.

Lucifer sighed as if he was in pain.  “It wouldn’t kill you to lighten up.”

“If it did maybe I’d feel compelled to,” Pierce snapped before heading to the door.  “I’m going home. Let me know if you ever feel like being useful.”

Lucifer gave a slight flinch as the door slammed behind the Lieutenant.  “Hm. So, probably a bad choice of words then?” he asked the empty room.

* * *

 

Amenadiel rushed Pierce as soon as he stepped outside of Lux.  He pushed the other man against the wall. “Don’t think I’m going to take this lightly,” he hissed in Pierce’s ear.  “I’m not going to let you do whatever you’d like.”

“And what is it, exactly, that I’m doing that you disapprove of?” Pierce asked calmly, his face pressed into the cement wall in front of him.  “I’m still breathing, aren’t I? Isn’t that the only thing you’re concerned about?”

“Don’t think that I don’t know exactly what it is you two are trying to do,” Amenadiel hissed.  “How you talked Lucy into this I’ll never know, but-”

Pierce laughed despite his position.  “ _I_ talked _him_ into it?  Get your facts straight,” he demanded.  “Do you even _know_ your brother?  As soon as he found out who I was, and what I wanted he jumped in to help.  He’ll do anything to spite his father; didn’t realize that one would be news to you.”

“Lucy isn’t the one trying to escape his sins,” Amenadiel pointed out, pressing Pierce more forcefully into the wall.

“No, _Lucy’s_ the one who already _did_ ,” Pierce snapped, trying to wiggle out of Amenadiel’s hold and failing.  “Couldn’t help but notice that he’s up on Earth instead of down in hell torturing guilty souls.  Wasn’t that supposed to be _his_ punishment?”

“You do not get to pass judgement on others!” Amenadiel snapped.  “That is the job of my father, and only him!”

“Ironic since it seems to be your past time to judge me,” Pierce spit back.

“I am doing my father’s work!”

“You don’t even know what that is!” Pierce growled.  “You’re just running around pretending like you know what you’re doing.  You’re just as lost as everyone else!”

“If this is my father’s will, then-!”

“Amenadiel?” Lucifer asked from behind him, having heard the commotion outside.  “Just how long were you out here playing creepy stalker? You could have come in, you know.”

“Lucy,” Amenadiel greeted, finally letting go of Pierce so he could turn to face his brother.  “Still getting into mischief, I see.”

“Not really, no,” Lucifer corrected.  “Just spending some quality time with another man, is all.”  He paused, putting a finger to his lips. “Ah, or is that what you were talking about?  I suppose dear old dad doesn’t like that very much, does he?”

Amenadiel looked between the two of them, his eyes growing wide.  “Lucy … you _didn’t_ ,” he breathed out.

“No, I didn’t,” Lucifer easily admitted with a shrug.  He let his eyes sweep up and down Pierce’s body. “Though I do have to say the option is looking better and better.”

“Not interested,” Pierce answered coldly, rubbing his neck from where Amenadiel had been pressing him up against the wall. He glared at both of them.  “Think I’ll leave you two to your reunion,” he stated before turning and leaving them both behind him.

“Now, see what you did?” Lucifer snapped.  “And he was _just_ starting to warm up to me, too.”

“This isn’t a joking matter, Lucy!” Amenadiel replied.  “I need you to stay away from him! He is on earth for his punishment!  It’s not for you to get involved in!” He glared at his brother one last time before following Pierce out.

“Oh, brother,” Lucifer replied with a grin, too quiet for Amenadiel to hear.  “Don’t you know that when you say things like that it just makes the idea more attractive to me?”

TBC


	5. Linda Knows

“We need some help, Doctor,” Lucifer announced gravely, putting his hand on Pierce’s knee.

“No,” Pierce replied, grabbing Lucifer’s hand and throwing it off him, “we don’t.”

“Yes,” Lucifer returned, glaring as he put his hand back on Pierce’s knee and squeezed, “we most certainly do.”

“No,” Pierce repeated through clenched teeth, returning the glare, “we most certainly _do not_.”

“Lucifer,” Linda broke in before Lucifer could insist that, yes, they did, “when you told me you wanted couples counseling I had assumed that you meant for yourself and Chloe.”

“Oh, no, the detective and I are rock solid,” Lucifer insisted with a smile.  “We couldn’t be happier. No, this is about the two of us,” he explained, gesturing between himself and Pierce.

“Yes, well, perhaps we can start by giving a little background on how the two of you became an _us_ ,” Linda suggested, waving her pen back and forth between the two men.

“There is no _us_ ,” Pierce insisted, shooting another glare in Lucifer’s direction.  “He just insists on making everything a joke.”

“I am _not_ joking!” Lucifer snapped right back.  “How many times do I have to tell you? I _am_ taking this seriously!  If you would just _listen_ to me-”

“I’ve _been_ listening!  I’ve been listening and waiting and I have yet to see any progress!  You have no idea what you’re doing!” Pierce replied. “And every new idea you come up with is just as harebrained as the last idea!”

“At least I _have_ ideas!” Lucifer snapped back.  “All _your_ ideas dried up centuries ago!”

“That’s because I’ve been _trying_ for thousands upon thousands of years!  I doubt you would appreciate the concept, since nothing can hold _your_ interest for more than a few days,” Pierce replied through clenched teeth.  

Lucifer drew back, looking affronted.  “I beg your pardon! And what is _that_ supposed to mean, exactly?”

“What I _mean_ is-!”

“Alright, I’ve heard enough out of the both of you,” Linda snapped, glaring at them both.  “The _first_ lesson in a relationship,” she began once both men looked properly chastised, “is that there is _give_ and _take_.  Blaming each other and pointing fingers is never a productive way to spend your time.”

“Lucifer and I are _not_ in a relationship,” Pierce snapped as he grimaced.  “He’s just trying to kill me.”

“Some would call that a relationship, dear,” Lucifer pointed out with a smile.

“Ah,” Linda replied, her mouth dropping open as she glanced at both men sitting on her couch.  It took her a few more moments of staring before things started to click. “So you must be Cain then,” she finally said, turning to the man she had only heard about until now.  “First murderer,” she whispered.

Pierce’s grimace intensified.  “Don’t remind me,” he growled. “And I’d _prefer_ ‘Detective Pierce’.”

“Yes, well, it turns out I might actually need some help killing him,” Lucifer explained, reaching over to grab Pierce’s knee again.  “That’s _not_ to say I don’t have a plan,” he said, glaring pointedly at Pierce.

“A plan as stupid as yours doesn’t deserve to be _called_ a plan,” Pierce argued before directing his attention to Linda.  “Explain to him that-”

“Explain to _him_ ,” Lucifer interrupted, “that none of my plans will ever work if he completely disregards them all."  He turned back to the man in question.  "I think a little _trust_ is in order, Lieutenant.”  

“T _rust_ needs to be _earned_ ,” Pierce growled back. “Or do you not get the concept of _working_ for something?”

“I don’t think _you_ know the concept of _opening up_ ,” Lucifer replied before returning his attention to Linda.  “You see what I’m dealing with here?” he asked, waving his hand in Pierce’s direction.  

“Exactly what is it that you’re asking him to do?” Linda asked, frowning at them both.  "What's this plan that you're arguing about?"

“He insists that he can kill me if he finds my vulnerability,” Pierce answered, glaring at Lucifer.  “Which we’ve already tried and failed at, so I don’t see the point in trying _again_.”

“The problem _is_ , and _remains_ to be, that you refuse to open up about any vulnerabilities you may have,” Lucifer explained, glaring right back.  “I can’t very well kill you using something that makes you vulnerable if I don’t _know_ what makes you vulnerable.”

“You don’t know what makes me vulnerable because nothing _does_ make me vulnerable,” Pierce said.  “I’ve told you this before. I don’t understand the point of going back to a dead end.”

“Just because you don’t know what makes you vulnerable doesn’t mean that nothing does,” Lucifer pointed out.  “That’s _precisely_ why we’re here,” he reminded the other man, bringing both their attentions back to the doctor.  

Linda cleared her throat.  “Some would argue that someone can’t be vulnerable until they _allow_ themselves to be.”

Pierce rolled his eyes.  “This is such a waste of time,” he muttered.  

“Not sure I’m following you, Doctor,” Lucifer replied, raising an eyebrow.  “How does one _allow_ themselves to become vulnerable?”

“Well, Lucifer, it involves opening up to someone and trusting them,” Linda replied.  “Think about what you have with Chloe. It’s _because_ you trust her that she’s able to hurt you.  Trust is a powerful gift, and you shouldn’t take it lightly.”

Lucifer immediately grinned as he turned to Pierce.  “I _told_ you the key to this whole thing was trusting me!”

“No one said it had to be _you_ ,” Pierce snapped before getting up.  “This entire thing is ridiculous. Let me know when you think of a plan that actually _works_ ,” he demanded before walking out the door and slamming it shut behind him.

Lucifer watched the door close with a frown before turning back to the therapist.  “You see what I have to deal with? He’s completely ungrateful.”

Linda folded her hands in her lap.  “Perhaps we should take a step back from the vulnerability issue.  Would you instead like to talk about when it was that you discovered that you had developed feelings for Detective Pierce?”

TBC


	6. Maze Knows

“Just relax, Lieutenant,” Lucifer hummed.  “This is only going to hurt more if you’re tense.”

“How do you,” Pierce grunted out, taking shallow breaths, “expect me to …” He paused, allowing himself to try to try to catch his breath but failing. “... be relaxed … when you’re …”

“Fine,” Lucifer snapped, “Don’t relax then.  It’s all the same to me. But, please, _do_ stop talking; you’re really ruining the mood.”

“Lucifer,” Pierce grunted, just to be interrupted again.  

“Let’s remember that _you’re_ the one who decided this was a better option than therapy,” Lucifer pointed out.  “And you okayed this whole thing, even after I told you how much it would hurt. You can’t expect me to be okay stopping in the middle.”

“Didn’t tell you … to stop,” Pierce replied.

“Well your complaints aren’t exactly encouraging,” Lucifer snapped.  “And do stop talking. Every time you do you get blood all over my floor.”

“That’s never been … a problem before,” Pierce replied, blood spurting out of his chest after every breath.

“Yes, well, before it wasn’t smearing the satanic symbol that you’re currently lying on top of,” Lucifer said as he wiped the new blood away, careful not to disturb the old blood.

Pierce was laying on the floor, naked, his hands spread out above his head and his feet tied up a few feet apart so his limbs and head were matching the pentagon sign beneath him.  On his chest was another pentagon, cut so deep into his chest blood was rushing into his lungs and making it excruciating to talk. He would have bleed out a good hour ago had he not been immortal.  Instead, they were forced to wait until he died by drowning in his own blood. Pierce only hoped that it would be soon.

“You’re doing fantastic, by the way,” Lucifer complimented.  “Beautiful, even. Why, most humans stop as soon as the first cut hits their chest.  At least we know you’re determined, if nothing else.”

“Didn’t realize that was-” Pierce coughed and grunted, trying to curl in on himself but failing due to the ropes binding him.  “...a question,” he forced himself to wheeze out, doing his best to ignore the pain scorching through him.

“Just trying to compliment you, Lieutenant,” Lucifer replied, looking down at him.  “Just a few more moments and the rest of the ritual should start to take effect.”

“Whoa, people weren’t kidding about you two, were they?” Maze asked as she walked into the closed down club and helped herself to the bar.  She put a plastic shopping bag on the tabletop as she poured some liquor into a glass for herself.

Lucifer turned and raise an eyebrow at her as he turned away from Pierce.  “People weren’t kidding about _what_?”

Maze grinned around the glass as she leaned forward.  “... Weren’t kidding about you two hooking up. Looks like you’re getting pretty kinky with it, too.  I approve.”

“What?  We’re not-” Lucifer said, just to be interrupted by Pierce.

“I would … never,” he grunted from the floor.  

Lucifer shot him a glare as he watched the blood pouring out of his chest and onto the floor.  He turned back to Maze. “We are _not_ doing anything kinky,” he assured her. “I’m just trying to kill him.”

Maze leaned across the bartop.  “Pretty kinky way of killing someone, if you ask me,” she replied before licking her teeth.  

“Oh, everything’s always sex with you, isn’t it?” Lucifer asked with a frown.  “I’m just trying to replace Cain’s life with a dead, mortal being. I would have thought you’d be familiar with the ritual.”

“Oh, I am,” Maze assured him, “The ritual that sends the person sacrificing themselves into hell to become the devil’s plaything?  Sounds pretty kinky to me.”

Lucifer’s frown deepened.  “Yes, well, that may be, but the point was to send him to his death.”  He flicked his gaze back to Pierce, relieved to see that he had stopped breathing.  “And it looked like it worked,” he added with a smile.

“Did you forget your father’s teachings so fast, Lucifer?” Maze asked with a grin before taking a sip of her whiskey.  “An eye for an eye? An immortal man for an immortal man?” Her grin intensified as Pierce disappeared only to reappear, his arms and legs no longer tied up and the pentagon on his chest gone.  “You should know that there are no immortal men in hell to replace an immortal man on earth.”

Pierce curled in on his side, still feeling the pain in his chest despite the fact that the wound had disappeared.  He coughed, wondering if there was still blood in his lungs. “I … I saw it,” he breathed quietly. He rolled onto his back and looked up at Lucifer.  “I saw hell,” he said quietly, a smile on his face. “We … we have to try again.”

“No, it won’t work,” Lucifer snapped.  “Maze is right; in order for it to work we would need an immortal man in hell to replace you.  And it seems that dear old dad has left us in short supply.”

“No worries,” Maze said, striding over to Lucifer and throwing the plastic bag at him.  “Just because you can’t get kinky in hell doesn’t mean that you can’t get kinky on earth,” she said with a wink.

Lucifer cocked his head to the side before reaching into the bag and taking out a box that housed butt plug advertising its vibrating abilities.  “Why Maze,” he said with a smile, “you kinky little demon, you.”

Maze grinned at him.  “Thought it wouldn’t be fair for just one of you to have all the fun.  Figured this way you could both enjoy some assplay.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Pierce interrupted, still laying on the floor in exhaustion.  “And what is that thing?” he asked, eyeing the box in Lucifer’s hand.

Lucifer turned to Pierce and raised an eyebrow.  “You say sex is boring, but you’ve never had your prostate massaged by a giant, vibrating, dildo?  You don’t know what you’re missing, man!”

Maze smiled as she slipped out the door.  They were so obviously boning.

END


End file.
